“You have to have a culture in your school, you have to have belonging – something you feel connected to” Student, Shirley Boys’ High School
“If boys didn’t belong to our school, I don’t think our school would be able to run altogether” Student, Shirley Boys’ High School
The above quotes from students at Shirley Boys’ High School emphasise the fact that the school and students pride themselves on having a strong sense of belonging - a notable feature which we observed during our short stay at the school. In light of this, we questioned the impact of this sense of belonging on meeting individual needs of students and contributing to their Personalised Learning goals. There are a number of features in the school which we feel contribute to its sense of belonging namely: School Ethos, the House System, the House Executive and Sport. We decided to investigate if and how these interrelated features impact on Personalised Learning in the school.
School Ethos
“What we’re about is creating Shirley Men. That’s why our code of conduct is called the Shirley Way, that’s why we focus a lot on character development, that’s why we try and teach leadership skills and leadership units in class and so on. That’s why we try and create all these leadership opportunities” Tony Ambrose, Depute Principal, Shirley Boys’ High School
The High School operates under a strong ethos and a code of conduct known as the “Shirley Way”. According to the Headmaster John Laurenson, the Shirley Way involves the creation of an atmosphere of inclusivity, where everyone is known, everyone experiences success, no one is left behind and the following five pillars are exemplified and taught:
Students and parents understand the importance of lifelong learning
Students are actively taught to strive for and achieve personal excellence
Staff and students nurture individual and group leadership skills
Students participate in sporting and cultural activities to the best of their ability
Students develop positive citizenship skills
Students and staff have rights and responsibilities which include being proud of the school, to be spoken to with respect and treated with loyalty and to behave in ways that encourage the community to think highly of the school.
According to the school code of conduct: The “Shirley Way” aims at creating a “Shirley Man” who strives to do better than before by doing the right thing. Being a Shirley Man is promoted in the school and this led to us to question whether or not students are truly able to be themselves under a system which promotes such a strong collective student identity. Initially we perceived the ideal of a “Shirley Man” as being someone who is strong, masculine and athletic. However after speaking to staff and students we realised that for the school the concept of a “Shirley Man” is less about an individual’s personality or physical attributes and more about social responsibility and being a good citizen. According to the school manifesto, it aims to produce Shirley men who are ready, willing and able to assume useful roles in society and who are responsible citizens, some of whom will be local, national and international leaders and all of whom will be sensitive to the needs of others. According to John Laurenson, students are encouraged in every way to become “good men”.
We asked a number of students in the school what they thought of the concept of a Shirley Man and whether it was important to them. Although some students were not quite sure or were not that interested, it was apparent that many students felt that the concept held a strong moral responsibility for them. One student told us that to him being a Shirley Man means to do the right thing and to teach others to do the right thing. The school ethos and sense of belonging are also promoted through a number of structural features in the school including its House system, which will be explained in more detail below. The House System The High School operates under a House System structure which was established in 2004. According to John Laurenson the Head Teacher at Shirley Boys’, every boy experiences a strong need to belong and in such a large school this can become difficult which is why the House system is so important. The Houses and associated colours are Aoraki (Blue), Blake (Green), Mullins (Red), Rutherford (Black) and Snell (Gold). These names were chosen from famous New Zealanders who have excelled in areas that the school expects graduates to excel in such as leadership, physical endeavour, academic ability, environmental and cultural awareness. Upon entry to the school students are allocated a House and each student is expected to purchase a House shirt to promote their House. Students are placed in form classes with students from the same House, which aims to promote House relations. Every student at the school is encouraged to participate in as many House events as possible and the school believes that every pupil will gain a huge amount from participating in the House system. Along with providing a sense of belonging and evoking a sense of competition in the school, another aim of the House System is to meet the pastoral care needs of students. Each House group in the school has a Dean who is responsible for the overall well-being of that group. The Dean stays with his or her House group throughout their time as a Dean. During our time at the school, we conducted a focus group with most of the Deans of House in order to find out how they try to meet the needs of students within their House. Derek Hay, the Dean of Snell House summarises his role below: “the role basically involves pastoral care of approximately 300 students. The role goes from organizing courses, re- arranging courses, changing courses to maintaining the students, trying to get them on the right track and keep them on the right track most of the year” The Deans emphasised the sense of belonging that the House Structure provides for the students and furthermore the sense of achievement and self worth that students feel when they perform well for their House in sports or other activities. This could be considered an example of Personalised Learning for students who perform better academically through a sense of self worth and belonging. Furthermore every student at the school is encouraged to participate in as many House events as possible and the school believes that every pupil will gain a huge amount from participating in the House system. Boys are actively encouraged to participate in a range of House activities (sporting, cultural and academic) to encourage healthy competition and a sense of ownership to the House. This also further strengthens the pastoral care system. As Bobby Richards, Dean of Aoraki House summarises below: “It gives them a real reward when something they’ve invested time and effort into is acknowledged with a win or a good performance and that can be really positive for some of our kids who have limited success elsewhere” Therefore the sense of competition and possible achievement that is provided by the House System is very important for meeting the needs of students who perhaps feel undervalued in other aspects of their lives. In this instance it can be viewed as Personalised Learning by meeting social needs and making students feel a sense of belonging that they do not experience elsewhere. When students feel a strong sense of security, it can also help them to perform better academically and in other areas of their education. Despite this the House System is built upon a strong sense of competition, in particular achievement throughout sport is encouraged. During our time in the school we felt that pupils who are not really interested in sport may struggle at times with the strong competitive sporting culture in the school. However as students have some choice in which High School they attend in Christchurch, there is the opportunity for students to go elsewhere if the environment at Shirley Boys is not for them. The Sporting Culture in the school is looked at again in more depth in the last section of this case study.
Alongside a Dean of House, each House has a Head of House and Form Teachers who are more responsible for the day to day running of the House and its structural organisation. The role of the House Executive “I think it’s like, giving back to the school, because you’ve been here for the past 4 years, and the school makes a real effort, so it’s your sort of, it’s your turn to leave your mark. Try and make it better than it was, and sort of almost give back to the school”House Executive Member, Shirley Boys High School Each year the school appoints a number of year 12 and 13 students as Senior Executive Members. Within this group a Head Prefect is selected and an Associate Head Prefect. In addition, providing he is a Year 13 student, the student representative on the Board of Trustees is also a Senior Executive member. Five Deputy Head Prefects are also selected and they also assume the role of House Captain for their House. Late in the year, once external examinations begin, a group of year 10 students are also selected and trained to be year 10 monitors for the last six weeks of the year. There is also a six student Junior Executive team chosen late each year from the Year 9 students in each House. Of these six, one is then elected as Junior House Captain. According to Tony Ambrose, the Depute Head Teacher at the school, one of the most important characteristics that he looks for in choosing the House Executive is whether the students are good role models and good examples of “Shirley Men”. This includes both the ability to lead and motivate others. As part of this leadership, all students are encouraged to meet the requirements to be a “Shirley Man”. Each year students are nominated for a “Shirley Man Distinction Award”. All successful nominees receive a badge and those who achieve distinction awards are eligible to attend a special dinner where the elite blazer awards are announced. Depending on a student’s individual role, they are given differing degrees of responsibility in the overall running of the school. This can include things like going out and representing the school at things like conferences, facilitating for students needs and helping the Houses to achieve excellence at House events. Whilst in the school, we interviewed a group of students from the varying roles within the House Executive to find out what they gain from their individual roles and how the system benefits the school as a whole. In general the students felt that by being part of the House Executive they were able to give something back to the school whilst making the school a better place for those who attend it. In general the pupils from the House Executive are clearly very passionate about the school and this is perhaps due to the strong sense of belonging in the school. Overall being in the House Executive meets the needs of students who are passionate about giving something back to the school a pursuing a sense of power and leadership that may benefit them in future careers. Sport Sport is a very significant part of the culture at Shirley Boys’ High School and it is promoted even further through the competitive nature of the House system. Sport at the school is run under the banner of Spartans Sport and it is responsible for making sure that quality sports programmes are available to the students. Sports at the school provide a platform to:
Have fun
Pursue aims of excellence, personal achievement and self discipline
Improve self esteem and sportsmanship
Establish friendship with other students in the school and beyond
Meet and get to know teachers beyond the classroom
Develop leadership and followship skills
Whilst in the school we observed conflicting accounts as to whether being a “Shirley Man” equates to being a sporty man. Although the consensus was that it doesn’t, during our time in the school we spoke to staff that definitely saw the two as being linked. At Shirley Boys it is compulsory for all Year 9 students to take part in an extra- curricular sport. We spoke to Matt Shar Head of the Health and Sports Department in the school who told us that although some pupils are less interested in sports than others, there is such a wide range of compulsory sports on offer that there is something almost everyone will like. A massive benefit of sport in the school is that the extra-curricular sporting classes are taken by teachers which several students and teachers thought was very important for improving teacher/student relations. “Before you know it, it’s immediately this, immediately there’s a small part of the class who’s immediately allied to you, just purely because they understand that you’ve got an interest in what they do outside of their academic” Dean of House, Shirley Boys High School To summarise this case study has looked at school ethos, the House system, the House Executive and sport at Shirley Boys High School. All of these things can be seen to contribute to a sense of belonging in the school which for some students can be a form of pastoral care – making them feel that they belong somewhere or to something.
“You have to have a culture in your school, you have to have belonging – something you feel connected to” Student, Shirley Boys’ High School
“If boys didn’t belong to our school, I don’t think our school would be able to run altogether” Student, Shirley Boys’ High School
The above quotes from students at Shirley Boys’ High School emphasise the fact that the school and students pride themselves on having a strong sense of belonging - a notable feature which we observed during our short stay at the school. In light of this, we questioned the impact of this sense of belonging on meeting individual needs of students and contributing to their Personalised Learning goals. There are a number of features in the school which we feel contribute to its sense of belonging namely: School Ethos, the House System, the House Executive and Sport. We decided to investigate if and how these interrelated features impact on Personalised Learning in the school.
School Ethos
“What we’re about is creating Shirley Men. That’s why our code of conduct is called the Shirley Way, that’s why we focus a lot on character development, that’s why we try and teach leadership skills and leadership units in class and so on. That’s why we try and create all these leadership opportunities” Tony Ambrose, Depute Principal, Shirley Boys’ High School
The High School operates under a strong ethos and a code of conduct known as the “Shirley Way”. According to the Headmaster John Laurenson, the Shirley Way involves the creation of an atmosphere of inclusivity, where everyone is known, everyone experiences success, no one is left behind and the following five pillars are exemplified and taught:
Students and parents understand the importance of lifelong learning
Students are actively taught to strive for and achieve personal excellence
Staff and students nurture individual and group leadership skills
Students participate in sporting and cultural activities to the best of their ability
Students develop positive citizenship skills
Students and staff have rights and responsibilities which include being proud of the school, to be spoken to with respect and treated with loyalty and to behave in ways that encourage the community to think highly of the school.
According to the school code of conduct: The “Shirley Way” aims at creating a “Shirley Man” who strives to do better than before by doing the right thing. Being a Shirley Man is promoted in the school and this led to us to question whether or not students are truly able to be themselves under a system which promotes such a strong collective student identity. Initially we perceived the ideal of a “Shirley Man” as being someone who is strong, masculine and athletic. However after speaking to staff and students we realised that for the school the concept of a “Shirley Man” is less about an individual’s personality or physical attributes and more about social responsibility and being a good citizen. According to the school manifesto, it aims to produce Shirley men who are ready, willing and able to assume useful roles in society and who are responsible citizens, some of whom will be local, national and international leaders and all of whom will be sensitive to the needs of others. According to John Laurenson, students are encouraged in every way to become “good men”.
We asked a number of students in the school what they thought of the concept of a Shirley Man and whether it was important to them. Although some students were not quite sure or were not that interested, it was apparent that many students felt that the concept held a strong moral responsibility for them. One student told us that to him being a Shirley Man means to do the right thing and to teach others to do the right thing.The school ethos and sense of belonging are also promoted through a number of structural features in the school including its House system, which will be explained in more detail below.
The House System
The High School operates under a House System structure which was established in 2004. According to John Laurenson the Head Teacher at Shirley Boys’, every boy experiences a strong need to belong and in such a large school this can become difficult which is why the House system is so important. The Houses and associated colours are Aoraki (Blue), Blake (Green), Mullins (Red), Rutherford (Black) and Snell (Gold). These names were chosen from famous New Zealanders who have excelled in areas that the school expects graduates to excel in such as leadership, physical endeavour, academic ability, environmental and cultural awareness. Upon entry to the school students are allocated a House and each student is expected to purchase a House shirt to promote their House. Students are placed in form classes with students from the same House, which aims to promote House relations. Every student at the school is encouraged to participate in as many House events as possible and the school believes that every pupil will gain a huge amount from participating in the House system.
Along with providing a sense of belonging and evoking a sense of competition in the school, another aim of the House System is to meet the pastoral care needs of students. Each House group in the school has a Dean who is responsible for the overall well-being of that group. The Dean stays with his or her House group throughout their time as a Dean. During our time at the school, we conducted a focus group with most of the Deans of House in order to find out how they try to meet the needs of students within their House. Derek Hay, the Dean of Snell House summarises his role below:
“the role basically involves pastoral care of approximately 300 students. The role goes from organizing courses, re- arranging courses, changing courses to maintaining the students, trying to get them on the right track and keep them on the right track most of the year”
The Deans emphasised the sense of belonging that the House Structure provides for the students and furthermore the sense of achievement and self worth that students feel when they perform well for their House in sports or other activities. This could be considered an example of Personalised Learning for students who perform better academically through a sense of self worth and belonging.
Furthermore every student at the school is encouraged to participate in as many House events as possible and the school believes that every pupil will gain a huge amount from participating in the House system. Boys are actively encouraged to participate in a range of House activities (sporting, cultural and academic) to encourage healthy competition and a sense of ownership to the House. This also further strengthens the pastoral care system. As Bobby Richards, Dean of Aoraki House summarises below:
“It gives them a real reward when something they’ve invested time and effort into is acknowledged with a win or a good performance and that can be really positive for some of our kids who have limited success elsewhere”
Therefore the sense of competition and possible achievement that is provided by the House System is very important for meeting the needs of students who perhaps feel undervalued in other aspects of their lives. In this instance it can be viewed as Personalised Learning by meeting social needs and making students feel a sense of belonging that they do not experience elsewhere. When students feel a strong sense of security, it can also help them to perform better academically and in other areas of their education.
Despite this the House System is built upon a strong sense of competition, in particular achievement throughout sport is encouraged. During our time in the school we felt that pupils who are not really interested in sport may struggle at times with the strong competitive sporting culture in the school. However as students have some choice in which High School they attend in Christchurch, there is the opportunity for students to go elsewhere if the environment at Shirley Boys is not for them. The Sporting Culture in the school is looked at again in more depth in the last section of this case study.
Alongside a Dean of House, each House has a Head of House and Form Teachers who are more responsible for the day to day running of the House and its structural organisation.
The role of the House Executive
“I think it’s like, giving back to the school, because you’ve been here for the past 4 years, and the school makes a real effort, so it’s your sort of, it’s your turn to leave your mark. Try and make it better than it was, and sort of almost give back to the school” House Executive Member, Shirley Boys High School
Each year the school appoints a number of year 12 and 13 students as Senior Executive Members. Within this group a Head Prefect is selected and an Associate Head Prefect. In addition, providing he is a Year 13 student, the student representative on the Board of Trustees is also a Senior Executive member. Five Deputy Head Prefects are also selected and they also assume the role of House Captain for their House. Late in the year, once external examinations begin, a group of year 10 students are also selected and trained to be year 10 monitors for the last six weeks of the year. There is also a six student Junior Executive team chosen late each year from the Year 9 students in each House. Of these six, one is then elected as Junior House Captain. According to Tony Ambrose, the Depute Head Teacher at the school, one of the most important characteristics that he looks for in choosing the House Executive is whether the students are good role models and good examples of “Shirley Men”. This includes both the ability to lead and motivate others.
As part of this leadership, all students are encouraged to meet the requirements to be a “Shirley Man”. Each year students are nominated for a “Shirley Man Distinction Award”. All successful nominees receive a badge and those who achieve distinction awards are eligible to attend a special dinner where the elite blazer awards are announced.
Depending on a student’s individual role, they are given differing degrees of responsibility in the overall running of the school. This can include things like going out and representing the school at things like conferences, facilitating for students needs and helping the Houses to achieve excellence at House events.
Whilst in the school, we interviewed a group of students from the varying roles within the House Executive to find out what they gain from their individual roles and how the system benefits the school as a whole. In general the students felt that by being part of the House Executive they were able to give something back to the school whilst making the school a better place for those who attend it. In general the pupils from the House Executive are clearly very passionate about the school and this is perhaps due to the strong sense of belonging in the school.
Overall being in the House Executive meets the needs of students who are passionate about giving something back to the school a pursuing a sense of power and leadership that may benefit them in future careers.
Sport
Sport is a very significant part of the culture at Shirley Boys’ High School and it is promoted even further through the competitive nature of the House system. Sport at the school is run under the banner of Spartans Sport and it is responsible for making sure that quality sports programmes are available to the students. Sports at the school provide a platform to:
- Have fun
- Pursue aims of excellence, personal achievement and self discipline
- Improve self esteem and sportsmanship
- Establish friendship with other students in the school and beyond
- Meet and get to know teachers beyond the classroom
- Develop leadership and followship skills
Whilst in the school we observed conflicting accounts as to whether being a “Shirley Man” equates to being a sporty man. Although the consensus was that it doesn’t, during our time in the school we spoke to staff that definitely saw the two as being linked.At Shirley Boys it is compulsory for all Year 9 students to take part in an extra- curricular sport. We spoke to Matt Shar Head of the Health and Sports Department in the school who told us that although some pupils are less interested in sports than others, there is such a wide range of compulsory sports on offer that there is something almost everyone will like.
A massive benefit of sport in the school is that the extra-curricular sporting classes are taken by teachers which several students and teachers thought was very important for improving teacher/student relations.
“Before you know it, it’s immediately this, immediately there’s a small part of the class who’s immediately allied to you, just purely because they understand that you’ve got an interest in what they do outside of their academic” Dean of House, Shirley Boys High School
To summarise this case study has looked at school ethos, the House system, the House Executive and sport at Shirley Boys High School. All of these things can be seen to contribute to a sense of belonging in the school which for some students can be a form of pastoral care – making them feel that they belong somewhere or to something.